Rebuilding computer states remotely

ABSTRACT

A representation of the state of a computer, based on diagnostic data of the computer, is built by extracting system information from the diagnostic data and building a component based representation of the computer using the extracted system information. A static tree definition of a computer system is provided which is formed by element types in a fixed hierarchical relationship. A plurality of token types are provided, each of the token types being associated with one of the element types. The token types are component based data types. Respective segments of the incoming data that are defined by respective token types are identified and stored as tokens in a token data base. Each of the tokens has a value field holding a value associated with the element and a parent field referring to an element with which the token is associated. For each element in the static definition, the token data base is searched for associated tokens and a host state is built based on the static state definition and the extracted associated tokens, the elements of the static state definition being given value by their associated tokens.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application relates to the following commonly owned co-pending applications, Ser. No. 08/819,501, entitled "AUTOMATIC REMOTE COMPUTER MONITORING SYSTEM", by Michael J. Wookey, filed Mar. 17, 1997, and Ser. No. 08/819,500, entitled "DYNAMIC TEST UPDATE IN A REMOTE COMPUTER MONITORING SYSTEM", by Michael J. Wookey, filed Mar. 17, 1997, which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to monitoring of computer systems and more particularly to rebuilding the state of a computer system based on diagnostic data from the computer system.

2. Description of the Related Art

Computer systems such as mainframes, minicomputers, workstations and personal computers, experience hardware and software failures that degrade system performance or render the system inoperative. In order to diagnose such failures computer systems include diagnostic capability which provides various types of system diagnostic information.

Computer systems are typically serviced when a failure is noticed either by system diagnostics or by users of the system when the system become partially or completely inoperative. Since computer systems are frequently located at some distance from the support engineers, when problems do occur, a support engineer may access the computer system remotely through a modem in an interactive manner to evaluate the state of the computer system. That remote dial-in approach does allow the support engineer to provide assistance to a remote customer without the delay of traveling to the computer system site. Once connected to the remote computer system, the support engineer can perform such tasks as analyzing hardware and software faults by checking patch status, analyzing message files, checking configurations of add-on hardware, unbundled software, and networking products, uploading patches to the customer system in emergency situations, helping with problematic installation of additional software, running on-line diagnostics to help analyze hardware failures, copying files to or from customer system as needed.

However, there are limitations to such support. For instance, the data size transfer may be limited at the time of failure, due to such factors as modem speed and thus a complete picture of a system may be unavailable. Running diagnostic software during the remote session, if necessary, may adversely impact system performance. Where a system is part of a network, which is commonplace today, the running of diagnostic tests may impact network performance. Where computer systems are being used in a production or other realtime environment, such degradation of system performance is obviously undesirable.

Further, historical data on system performance may not be available in such scenarios. It is therefore impossible to analyze trends or compare system performance, e.g., before and after a new hardware or software change was made to the system. The support engineer is limited to the snapshot of the system based on the diagnostic information available when the support engineer dials in to the system.

It would be advantageous if a support engineer had available complete diagnostic information rather than just a snapshot, However, system diagnostic tests typically generate a significant amount of data and it can be difficult for a support engineer to analyze such data in a raw form. Additionally, service centers typically support a number of different computer systems. Each computer system has its own hardware and software components and thus have unique problems. For example, it is not uncommon for failures to be caused by incorrect or incompatible configuration of the various hardware and/or software components of the particular system. It would be advantageous to provide a remote monitoring diagnostic system that could process, present and manipulate diagnostic data in a structured and organized form and also monitor a number of different computer systems without having prior knowledge of the particular hardware or software configuration of each system being monitored. In order to provide better diagnostic support to computer systems, it would also be advantageous to provide the ability to detect problems in the diagnostic data and to provide proactive monitoring of the diagnostic data in order to better detect and/or predict system problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus to build a representation of the state of a computer, based on diagnostic data, by extracting system information from that diagnostic data and building a component based representation of the computer using the extracted system information. A static tree definition of a computer system is provided which is formed by element types in a fixed hierarchical relationship. A plurality of token types are provided, each of the token types being associated with one of the element types. The token types are component based data types. Respective segments of the incoming data that are defined by respective token types are identified and stored as tokens in a token data base. Each of the tokens has a value field holding a value associated with the element and a parent field referring to an element with which the token is associated. For each element in the static definition, the token data base is searched for associated tokens and a host state is built based on the static state definition and the extracted associated tokens, the elements of the static state definition being realized and given value by their associated tokens.

The method and apparatus of the present invention provides a component based data structure for the diagnostic data that facilitates problem detection as well as proactive monitoring of the monitored computer system. Further, the present invention can build a representation of a monitored computer system without having any prior knowledge of the hardware and software details of the monitored computer system. The present invention also makes the diagnostic data easy to read and accessible to support engineers. Further, the invention can provide support for new computer systems and products in a manner that is more responsive than was previously available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention may be better understood, and its numerous objects, features, and advantages made apparent to those skilled in the art by referencing the accompanying drawings, wherein the use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items.

FIG. 1a shows an exemplary system for rebuilding the state of a computer according to the present invention.

FIG. 1b shows an exemplary monitored computer system which runs diagnostic tests on each computer and communicates the results of those tests to the system of FIG. 1a.

FIG. 2 details the architecture of a system that rebuilds computer states according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a root and lower branches of a static tree definition of computer system.

FIG. 4 shows additional branches of a static tree definition of a computer system related to components on the CPUBUS.

FIG. 5 shows additional branches of a static tree definition of a computer system, related to components on the peripheral bus.

FIG. 6 shows additional branches of a static tree definition of a computer system, related to software configuration components.

FIG. 7a shows the root and lower branches of a second exemplary tree structure.

FIG. 7b shows additional sub elements of the System services element.

FIG. 7c shows additional operating system elements.

FIG. 7d shows operating system elements related to kernel statistics.

FIG. 7e shows unbundled software elements.

FIG. 8 shows an exemplary output of a diagnostic test from which tokens are extracted and used to instantiate the static model exemplified by FIGS. 3-6 and FIGS. 7a-7e.

FIG. 9 shows an exemplary instantiation of a portion of a static tree.

FIG. 10 shows another example of a tree structure and an instantiation of that tree.

FIG. 11 shows another example of a host state.

FIG. 12 shows how the host state can be displayed to show graphical, and attribute information about the host state.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, an exemplary computer system 100, according to the present invention, receives diagnostic data from a monitored computer system 102. Monitored computer system 102 runs diagnostic tests, from among tests such as those shown in Table 1 or Table 2, on a periodic basis. The monitored system includes at least one computer and typically includes a plurality of computers 104-112 coupled in a network as shown in FIG. 1b. The diagnostic tests 116-124 are run on the computer system 102 under the control of monitor control software 126-134. The results of those diagnostic tests are automatically provided at periodic intervals to the computer system 100 which monitors computer system 102. In exemplary computer system 100, which includes one or more computers and associated storage areas, preferably coupled in a network, incoming diagnostic data from monitored system 102 is received from modem 114 at one of the modems in the modem pool 101. The incoming data may be received via email or may be a direct modem connection to the monitored system 102 or may be received via other communication channels. The raw diagnostic data is stored in storage 109. Storage 109 is shown as a single storage unit but may be separate storage units to accommodate the various storage requirements described herein. In order to perform operations on the data received, processor 117 transforms the received incoming data into a structure which can then be analyzed by alert processing computer 119. Editing capability is provided by a separate computer 121. Note that the functions may be performed in separate machines or may be combined into one or several computers.

                  TABLE 1                                                          ______________________________________                                         Class   Test Name   Description                                                ______________________________________                                         network automount.files                                                                            Automount /etc Files                                          automount.nis+ Automount NIS+Files                                             automount.nis Automount NIS Files                                              dfshares NFS shared filesystems                                                domainname Domain name                                                         etc.defaultdomain /etc/defaultdomain                                           etc.defaultrouter /etc/defaultrouter                                           etc.dfstab List /etc/dfs/dfstab                                                etc.hostnames /etc/hostname(s)                                                 etc.hosts /etc/hosts                                                           etc.mnttab List/etc/mnttab                                                     etc.named.boot /etc/named.boot                                                 etc.nsswitch.conf /etc/nsswitch.conf                                           etc.resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf                                               netstat-an List all TCP connections                                            netstat-in List network interfaces                                             netstat-k Network interface low-level statistics                               netstat-m List network routing                                                 nisdefaults NIS+ server defaults                                               nisstat NIS+ statistics                                                        ypwhich NIS server name                                                        ypwhich-m NIS map information                                                 OS checkcore Check for core files                                               df Disk Usage                                                                  dmesg Boot Messages                                                            framebuffer Default console/framebuffer                                        hostid Numeric ID of host                                                      ifconfig Ethemet/tP configuration                                              messages System messages                                                        (/var/adm/messages)                                                           patches List system patches                                                    pkginfo Software package information                                           prtconf System hardware configuration                                           (Software Nodes)                                                              prtconf-p System hardware configuration                                         (PROM Nodes)                                                                  prtdiag Print diagnostics                                                       (Sun-4d systems only)                                                         sar System activity reporter                                                   share Shared directories                                                       showrev Machine and software revision                                           information                                                                   swap Swap report                                                               uptime Local uptime and load average                                           whatami Lengthy system description report                                     unbundled fddi-nf.sub.-- stat FDDI low-level statistics                         metastat Online DiskSuite or                                                    Solstice DiskSuite                                                            vxprint Systems using SPARCstorage Array                                        Volume Manager                                                                x25.sub.-- stat X.25 low-level statistics                                   ______________________________________                                    

                  TABLE 2                                                          ______________________________________                                         Test Name            Test Name                                                 ______________________________________                                         ps -ef               ypwhich                                                     pkginfo -1 df                                                                  vmstat df -k                                                                   showrev -a mount -v                                                            xdpyinfo more/etc/dfs/dfstab                                                   netstat -k cachefsstat                                                         kmemleak (SMCC) df -1                                                          vtsprobe df -1k                                                                modinfo showrev -p                                                             arp -a nettest -1V (VTS)                                                       netstat -r dmesg                                                               conflgd diskprobe                                                              more/etc/mail/sendmail.cf disktest -1v (VTS)                                   crontab -1 (as root) tapetest -1v (VTS)                                        more/etc/nsswitch.conf bpptest -1 v (VTS)                                      more/etc/resolv.conf uname -a                                                  niscat -o org.sub.-- dir                                                     ______________________________________                                    

Referring to FIG. 2, the architecture of a system according to the present invention, is shown in greater detail. Incoming diagnostic data 201 is received via email or direct modem link (or another communication link) into the monitoring system and stored in raw test data storage area 213. The test data, which contains information about the software and hardware components in monitored system 102, is processed by token processing 211 to extract the information associated with hardware and software components in the monitored system. The extracted information is then used to create a representation of the monitored system in host state creator 206 based on the component information. The host state is the state of the monitored system or one computer of the monitored system over the particular time period that the diagnostic tests were run. Further details of the host state will be described further herein.

In order to create a representation of the monitored system, the components contained in the test data are rebuilt into a system hierarchy based on a static hierarchy tree definition. In a preferred embodiment, one static hierarchy tree definition is applicable to all systems which are being monitored. The extracted information about the components in the monitored system are mapped onto the static tree to create the system representation for the monitored system. Thus, the state of the monitored system is rebuilt.

The hierarchy tree is composed of elements. An element can be thought of as a physical or virtual component of a computer system. For example, a computer system may include such components as a disk, a disk partition, a software package, and a patch. An element has tokens associated with it. Thus, a partition element may have a disk percentage token, disk name token, and space available token associated with it. An element definition includes what token types fulfill the element, and give the element value. In one embodiment, an element is an instance of a class of element types as implemented in an object oriented language such as Java.

An exemplary portion of a static tree definition a computer system is shown in FIGS. 3-6. FIG. 3 shows a lower level (closer to the root) elements of the static tree and FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 show how the tree definition expands. The element host 301 defines the kind of computer that is being monitored. For instance, the host may be a workstation running Solaris or a PC running Windows NT. Attached to host 301 are other physical or virtual components such as CPU bus 303, monitor 305, keyboard/mouse 307, peripheral bus 309 and software configuration 311. Note that the terms are very general. Each element represents types of components that can be found in a typical computer system.

Referring to FIG. 4, the computer system further includes additional physical or virtual components on the CPU bus 303. The additional elements found on the CPU bus include CPU 401, memory 403 and EEProm 405. Referring to FIG. 5, additional components of the static hierarchy tree definition of the computer system can be found under peripheral bus element 309. Note that the instance of the peripheral bus could be an Sbus. However, the instance could also be a Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus. In fact there could be two instances of peripheral bus, SBUS and CPI bus. In some instances there could be more than two peripheral buses. The additional elements found on peripheral bus 309 include display adapter 501, peripheral adapter 503, network adapter 505 and port 507. The peripheral adapter element 503 may be coupled to additional elements such as removable media device element 509, (e.g., a disk drive, tape or CD drive) or a fixed media device 511. The fixed media device may be a hard disk drive which can have a further virtual component, partition element 513. Note the general nature of the static hierarchy system definition. That allows the static definition to be used even for monitored systems that utilize different software and hardware components.

Referring to FIG. 6, additional software elements under the software configuration element 311 are shown. Included in the software configuration 311 are the operating system element 601, software services element 603, patches element 605 and packages element 607. Additional elements under software services include disk mounts 609, cron 611, disk software 613, naming services 615, print services 617, serial port monitors 619 and custom services 621. The packages element 607 indicate, e.g., what software has been installed on the system. The operating system 601 is further defined by elements 623-637.

The description of the static tree is exemplary. Another tree may be chosen according to the system being monitored. Additionally, the static tree may be modified to reflect hardware and software enhancements to computer systems. The hierarchy tree definition is static in that it does not vary according to the system being monitored. However, the hierarchy tree can be edited in element hierarchy editor 215 to accommodate additions and/or deletions from the hierarchy tree when for instance, a new technology begins to be utilized in the monitored computer systems. One static tree or hierarchy tree definition may be sufficient for most or all monitored systems. However, a hierarchy tree definition could be tailored to the type of computer system that is being monitored to e.g., enhance processing speed. Another exemplary tree structure is shown in FIG. 7a-7e. The tree structure can be seen to include both hardware components and software components.

Thus, given a static definition of a generic computer system such as shown in FIGS. 3-6, or FIGS. 7a-7e, it is possible to build a representation of the actual computer system being monitored utilizing the diagnostic data communicated from the monitored system to the monitoring system.

In order to extract information from the diagnostic data stream, "token types" are utilized. A token type defines each token to have a token name and a test name. A test name comes from the tests shown e.g., in Table 1 or in Table 2, and indicates which test output contains the information for the token. In addition to a token name and a test name, each token has a label and a value. The label for the token gives the token knowledge about what element the token is associated with, i.e., the parent of the token which is an element. The value of the token provides a value extracted from the diagnostic data that gives value to the element.

For instance, assume a disk element exists with a name of "c0t10d0". Assume also that a token exists for such a disk element indicating the number of sectors per cylinder. The name of such a token would be, e.g., "number of sectors per cylinder." The test name in the token would be "vtsprobe" since the output of that test provides the information needed for the number of sectors per cylinder. The label for the token would be "c0t10d0" indicating that token is associated with a particular disk having that name. Finally, the token would have a value which indicates the number of sectors per cylinder. Other tokens could of course be associated with that element. For example, another token associated with that disk element might be a disk manufacturer token that identifies the manufacturer as "Seagate". The value of the token in such an instance would be "Seagate".

Note that one token type can create many tokens from the test data. For example, a "disk name" token type could extract multiple tokens, e.g. the disk names "c0t1d0" and "c0t2d0", from the test data when a particular system has two disks so named.

There are two types of tokens. The first is an element realizing token. Element realizing tokens provide a way to determine whether an element should be included when building a particular host state. For example, a disk name token is an element realizing token. The second type of token are data tokens which provide additional information about an element that has already been realized, such as the token indicating the number of sector per cylinder. Thus, it can be seen that tokens give value to the elements.

For any particular system, it is preferable to create tokens with as much granularity as possible. Thus, the smallest piece of information that is available about a system from the available diagnostic tests should be included as a token. Representative tokens are included in the description herein. The exact nature of the tokens and the total number of tokens will depend upon the system that is being monitored, including its hardware and operating system, and the diagnostic tests that can be run on the system. Table 3, attached, shows both elements and tokens for an exemplary embodiment of the invention. For each element shown in Table 3, the associated tokens are shown as well as the tests that supply the token information. In addition Table 3 shows the types of computers and operating system releases on which the tests are operable.

An exemplary output of one the diagnostic tests is shown in FIG. 8. The processing must extract from the output such information as the disk partition ID, last sector, first sector and the like. Examples of the tokens that are extracted for disk partition elements is shown in Table 3 for tokens associated with "SCSI Disk Partition Element". In order to parse through the output of the diagnostic tests a strong textual processing programming language, such as Perl, is utilized.

Note that the preferred implementation of the invention described herein is in an object oriented computer language and more particularly in Java. Nearly all the classes and type definitions described herein extend the type Persistent Object. Persistence is a technique that can be used in object oriented programming to ensure that all memory resident information can be stored to disk at any time. It can be thought of as encoding and decoding. When a persistent object is saved to disk, it is encoded in some manner so that it may be efficiently stored in the appropriate medium. Equally when loading the information back, it is decoded. That allows complex memory structures to be stored easily in databases with minimum disk space impact.

Now that it is understood that a static tree structure is composed of elements which are realized and given value by tokens, the building of a particular representation of a monitored computer system can be more completely described. Referring again to FIG. 2, the incoming data stream 201 of diagnostic data is stored in raw test data storage area 213. Token types are stored in storage area 233. The token types and the diagnostic data are provided to token processing 211, which is the process of running the token definitions against the incoming data and generating an outgoing stream of tokens which are stored in token data base 207. In a preferred embodiment the tokens in token data base 207 are stored as a hashtable to provide faster access to subsequent processing steps of building the representation of the system. A hashtable is a common key/element pair storage mechanism. Thus, for the token hashtable, the key to access a location in the hashtable is the token name and the element of the key/element pair would be the token value. Note that because the diagnostic data may include data for multiple computers in a monitored network or subnetwork, one task is to separate the diagnostic data provided to the token processing process 211 according to the computer on which the diagnostic tests were executed. Token types are run against the test output indicated in the test name in the token. For example token types having a test name parameter of "df" are run against "df" test output.

Once all the raw test data has been processed and a completed token data 207 is available, the second set of processing operations to build the representation of the monitored computer may be completed. In order to understand the building of the tree, an examination of several typical features of an element class will provide insight into how an element is used to build a tree.

An element has methods to retrieve the name of the element as well as the various values associated with an element. For example, a disk element includes a method to retrieve a disk ID token which realizes the element as well as having a method to find in the token data base a disk capacity parameter, sectors per track and other tokens such as those shown in Table 3 associated with "SCSI Disk". Those parameters are used to realize a disk element and give it value.

An element of one type is similar to an element of another type. For example; a partition element requires different tokens to provide different values but otherwise is similar to a disk element. The tokens needed to provide value to the partition element may include partition size, partitions used and partition free. Note elements have associated tokens providing a name or ID. As previously described, tokens have both a value and a label. The label or name provides a "tie" for the token. Suppose a disk element is instanced with a name of "c0t1d0". One of its token to be fulfilled is disk size. The token that provides the disk size would have a name of"0t1d0" and a value of 1.2 Gb. The value of 1.2 Gb would be tied to the name "0t1d0".

Referring to FIG. 9, an example of building a host state based on the elements of the static tree is shown. The term "host state" refers to the representation of the monitored system based on its diagnostic data. The host state essentially describes the state of a system for a given time period. The host state may be viewed as an instantiated element hierarchy based on the raw data that has come in from the remote host. In other words, it is a completed element hierarchy with value. The diagnostic data is collected over a particular time period, so the host state represents the state of the monitored machine over that particular time period, e.g., an hour. The host state is built by starting from the top of the tree element host 301. The element 301 has methods to retrieve relevant tokens from the token data base 207. As shown in FIG. 9, the element 301 is realized as "labtis 7". Because the token data base is a hashtable in the preferred embodiment, the realization of each element is faster. Next element graphics adapter 501 gets graphics adapter cgsix0 814 and ffb0 816. Continuing to build the host state, media controller element gets SCSI0 812 from the data base. In a preferred embodiment, the host state is built in depth order meaning that each element and all branches of that element are built before another element is built. Thus, referring back to FIG. 5, for example, everything on peripheral bus 309 would be built before the building of the software configuration 311. For each element in the static tree, the token data base is searched and the host state is created in element fulfillment processing 205 which requests tokens from token data base 207 in the form of searches for tokens providing realization and value to the static tree.

Once the element fulfillment stage is completed a final token post processing operation takes place in 208. An element can have a token defined that is the mathematical result of other tokens. For example, a disk space free token is derived from a simple subtraction from a disk used token and a total disk space token. The calculations are completed in this post processing operation 208 to complete the host state.

Note that because the tree definition is static and is intended to be general, not all elements will be found in every host state. Thus, when building the host state, no data will be found in the token data base for a particular element that is lacking in the monitored system. Additionally, in some host states, an element will be found more than once. Thus, the tree structure provides the flexibility to build host states that look very different.

Once the host state is built, it is saved in host state storage 209. The storage of the host state provides several advantages. For one, it provides the capability to search back through time and to compare one host state with another host state from a different time or perform trend analysis over time. The host states may be stored for any amount of time for which adequate storage area is available. For example, host states may be stored for a year.

Additionally, the stored host states are used when the diagnostic data is incomplete. There may be occasions when a test has failed to run in the monitored system or has not run before a scheduled communication of data from the monitored system. That may cause problems in the building of the host state from the static tree, especially where the test was one that created elements lower in the tree (i.e. towards the root). Each element can include a value that indicates how critical the element is to the system. If the element is critical, such as a disk, there could be a problem with the system and it should be noticed. If the data is not critical to the system, then older data could be retrieved from the previous host state in time for that particular host. That could be limited by restricting such retrieval to a specified number of times, e.g., 10, or any other number appropriate to the criticality of the element, before marking data as invalid.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the expert transport 250 provides access to all of the data storage mediums used for the various processes requiring the storage mediums. The communications between processing and storage elements is preferably network based to allow flexibility in implementation as the load of the subsystems may be distributed across machines if need be. Each module can access the expert transport in a very rigid manner making use of the object orientated design facilities provided by Java.

A second example of building a host state is shown in FIG. 10. Element 1001 has associated token types for the name of the system and the OS. Peripheral bus element 1003 has associated token types which gets the name of the peripheral bus and any onboard RAM. Element 1005, which is a processor element, has associated token types to provide a name, a revision number and the processor speed. The static definition 1000 creates a host state 1020 where the system is realized as "Spike" with an OS release of 5.4. The peripheral bus is instantiated as Sbus0 with 512 K of RAM. The processor element is instantiated three times as MPU0 1006, MPU1 1008 and MPU2 1010. Thus, an example is provided where a single element is realized more than one time in a particular system.

Referring to FIG. 11, another example of a host state is provided. The system is shown as element 1101 with associated values of being SparcStation2, with a system name Spike and an OS 5.4 release. The system has a peripheral bus, Sbus0, which has two SCSI buses 1105 and 1107. Attached on SCSI bus 0 are two disks sd0 and sd1. Disk "sd0" has associated tokens, in addition to its name, the manufacturer 1113, the revision 1115, the size of the disk, 1117 and the serial number 1119. As seen in Table 3, for the SCSI disk element, other tokens may be associated with a disk element.

In addition to storing the host state in data base 209, the system provides a graphical interface to access information about the host state. Referring to FIG. 12, an exemplary system visualization screen is shown. The tree structure is provided in region 1201 of the screen which graphically represents a portion of the host state shown in FIG. 11. Tree structures may also be represented in the form shown in FIGS. 7a-7e or other appropriate form. In addition to displaying the tree structure which provides the user a graphical depiction of the completed element hierarchy for a particular system at a particular time, the screen also provides a graphical image of the particular component which is being viewed. For instance, region 1203 of the screen shows a graphical image 1205 of a disk. Assuming that the viewer had clicked on disk 1202, sd0, region 1207 shows the attributes or token values associated with the selected element. Thus, the attributes relating to name, manufacturer, revision, size and serial number are all provided. This presents the support engineer with an easily understandable graphical image of the total system, and any particular component of the system that is represented in the host state, along with pertinent attributes.

Referring again to FIG. 2, the system visualizer 225 receives host states from host states database 209 and customer system information stored in data base 235. The system visualizer also receives alerts and local configurations relevant to a particular support engineer. The first task that the system visualizer must be to select the particular host that is to be worked upon or viewed. Thus, the system visualizer will have to search the host states database 209. The visualizer will provide the ability to parse through time to select from all the host states available for a particular system. While each element may have a graphic associated with it, a separate graphic can be used to indicate that a problem exists with a particular element.

In addition to displaying the attributes of an element, which are the values of the tokens associated with the element, the system visualizer provides graphical capability to graph attributes against time. One or more attributes can be selected to be graphed against history. In other words, the same attributes from different instances of the element hierarchy for a particular system can be compared graphically. For example, the amount of disk free over time can be monitored by looking at outputs of the "df" test over a period of time. The df output includes such token values as disk percentage used for a particular partition, partition name and size of partition. The visualizer will extract the tokens representing amount of disk percentage used for a particular set of host states. The host states from which the disk percentage tokens are extracted is determined according to the time period to be viewed. That information can then be visualized by plotting a graph of disk percentage used against time. Also, the visualizer can view different instances of the host state. In other words, the visualizer can view the state of a monitored system at different times. That capability provides a visual interpretation of changes in system configuration. The visualizes accesses the stored multiple instances of the host state of the particular system to provide that capability.

While it is possible for the diagnostic data from the monitored system to come up to the monitoring system in a raw form, it is also possible to do some preprocessing on the data in the monitored system. The preprocessing could translate the diagnostic data to something more easily readable by the monitoring system. As a simple example, the monitored system could eliminate all white space in the test output. The choice of whether to do preprocessing may depend on such considerations as whether the additional load put on the monitored system is a cost that is outweighed by the benefit of simpler processing at the monitoring system.

The description of the invention set forth herein is illustrative, and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims. For instance, while exemplary tests were generally described in terms computers operating in a Unix environment, the invention is also applicable to computer systems utilizing a variety of operating systems. Variations and modifications of the embodiments disclosed herein, may be made based on the description set forth herein, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

    TABLE 3        - Server Desktop        Element Entries Legacy Enterprise Legacy >=       Ultra 2                     Element Token Type 5.4 5.5 5.5.1 5.6 5.4      5.5 5.5.1 5.6        Host Hostname  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev -a         Platform uname -a uname -a uname -a  uname -a uname -a uname -a              Host Id  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev -a         Serial Number ReMon ReMon configd  ReMon ReMon configd          Extract Extract   Extract Extract         Data Date ReMon ReMon ReMon ReMon ReMon ReMon ReMon ReMon          Extract Extract Extract Extract Extract Extract Extract Extract             OS Release  showrev -a showrev -a    showrev -a showrev -a               Kernel Architecture  showrev -a showrev -a    showrev -a      showrev -a         Application Architecture  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev      -a         Hardware Provider  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev -a             Network Domain  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev -a            Kernel Version  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev -a             Openwindows Version  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a showrev      -a         System Clock Frequency  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe               Hardware Information Hardware Information(D) D D D D D D D D           Application Architecture  showrev -a showrev -a   showrev -a      showrev -a        System Board System Board ID  vtsprobe vtsprobe  D D D         type ND ND configd  ND ND configd         State ND ND configd  ND ND configd         slot number ND ND configd  ND ND ND         temperature ND ND configd  ND ND ND         board reference number ND ND configd  ND ND configd        Memory Controller Memory Controller ID D D configd  D D D         memory controller model ND ND configd  ND ND ND        Memory Memory Value  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd        Memory Simm Memory Simm ID ND ND configd  ND ND configd         board reference number ND ND configd  ND ND configd         size ND ND configd  ND ND configd        CPU CPU Unit ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd         Clock frequency  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd         CPU model  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd         CPU dcache size ND ND configd  ND ND configd         CPU ccache size ND ND configd  ND ND configd         CPU icache size ND ND configd  ND ND configd         CPU status ND ND configd  ND ND configd        EEPROM EEPROM Model D D configd  D D D         Flash Prom model ND ND configd  ND ND ND        Peripheral Bus peripheral bus id  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe      vtsprobe         Model No ND ND configd  ND ND configd         Registration Number ND ND configd  ND ND configd        Audio Port Audio Port id  vtsprobe configd    configd        Audio Port Error Audio Port Error String  audio -Iv audio Iv   audio      Iv audio -iv        Parallel Port parallel port id  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd          ParallelPortError Parallel Port Error String  bpptest -Iv bpptest      -Iv   bpptest -Iv bpptest -Iv        Serial Port serial port id  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd              Diskette Diskette ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd               Diskette Status ND ND configd  ND ND configd         Diskette Type ND ND configd  ND ND configd        Peripheral Adaptor Peripheral Adaptor ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe      configd         peripheral adaptor model name  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd           peripheral adaptor type  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd               sbus slot no ND ND configd  ND ND configd         speed register ND ND configd  ND ND configd        CDROM CDROM ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd        Tape TAPE ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd         Tape Type  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd        Tape Hardware Errors Tape HW Error String  tapetest -Iv tapetest=Iv      tapetest -Iv tapetest -Iv        SCSI Disk SCSI Disk ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd         SCSI Disk Sectors per track  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe           SCSI disk firmware rev  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe              SCSI disk serial number  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe          SCSI Disk Sectors per Cylinder  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe      vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Sun ID  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Cylinders  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Capacity  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Software Controller  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Accessible Cylinders  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Tracks per Cylinder  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe         SCSI Disk Bytes per Sector  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe            SCSI Disk Vendor  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe        SCSI Disk Error Disk Error String  disktest-Iv disktest -Iv   disktest        -Iv disktest -Iv           (o) (o)   (o) (o)        SCSI Disk Partition SCSI DIsk Partition ID diskprobe diskprobe      diskprobe  diskprobe diskprobe diskprobe         SCSI DIsk Partition last sector diskprobe diskprobe diskprobe      diskprobe diskprobe diskprobe         SCSI Disk Partition Sector diskprobe diskprobe diskprobe  diskprobe      diskprobe diskprobe         Count         Scsi Disk Partition First Sector diskprobe diskprobe diskprobe      diskprobe diskprobe diskprobe        SCSI Disk Bad Block SCSI BAD Block ID dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg      dmesg dmesg dmesg         Time occurred dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg dmesg               Network Adaptor Network Adapator ID  vtsprobe configd      vtsprobe configd         Internet Address  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd         sbus slot no. ND ND configd  ND ND configd        Network Hardware Error Network HW Error String  nettest -Iv nettest      -Iv   nettest -Iv nettest -Iv           (o) (o)   (o) (o)        Serial OpticalChannel Serial Optical Processor ID ND ND configd  ND ND        configd.        Processor Host Adaptor         Sbus slot number ND ND configd  ND ND configd         SO model No. ND ND configd  ND ND configd        Storage Array        Storage Array Disk        Storage Array Partition        Graphics Adaptor Graphics Adaptor ID  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe      configd         graphics adaptor model no ND ND configd  ND ND configd         sbus slot number ND ND configd  ND ND configd        Monitor Monitor Dtype(D) D D D D D D D D        Serial Port Expander        System Board PSU Power Supply ID ND ND configd  ND ND ND         Power Supply Wattage ND ND configd  ND ND ND         Power Supply Status ND ND configd  NP ND ND        System Power Supply System Power Supply (D) D D D  D D D        Software package & patches Software Packages & pack- D D D D D D D D          ages(D)        Software Package Software Package ID  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo      -1 pkginfo -1         Package Vendor  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1                Package Files  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1          Package Category  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo-1              Package Architecture  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo        -1         Package Status  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1                Package Base Directory  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1      pkginfo -1         Package Version  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1               Package pstamp  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1          Package Installation date  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1      pkginfo -1         Package Name  pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1   pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1        Software Patch Software Patch ID showrev -p showrev -p showrev -p      showrev -p showrev -p showrev -p         Revision ID showrev -p showrev -p showrev -p  showrev -p showrev -p      showrev -p        Operating System Operating System ID showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a        showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a         OS Release Type showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a  showrev -a showrev      -a showrev -a         OS Release Version showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a  showrev -a      showrev -a showrev -a        System Services System Services(D) D D D D D D D D        Unix Filesystems Unix Filesystems(D) D D D D D D D D        Local Filesystems (Boot) Local Filesystem name more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/                vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab               Associative Device Name more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         mount point more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         FSCK pass more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more        /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         mount options more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab        Local Filesystem (Current) Local Current FIlesystem Name mount -v      mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v         Associative Device Name mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v mount -v         mount point mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v         mount options mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v         Date mounted since mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount        -v mount -v mount -v         Total Kbytes available df -Ik df -Ik df -Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik      df-Ik         Total Kbytes used df -Ik df -Ik df -Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik         Percentage Capacity df -Ik df -Ik df -Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik df-Ik      df-Ik         Files used df -I df -I df -I df-I df-I df-I df-I df-I        Cache FS Cachefs Daemon ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps      -ef ps -ef        Cached Filesystem (boot) Cached Filesystem id more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/                vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab               Filesystem cached more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         mount option more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab        Cached File System(Current) Cached Filesystem ID mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v         Filesystem cached mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount      -v mount -v mount -v         cache bits cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat        cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat         cache misses cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsst       at cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat         cache modifies cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat      cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat cachefsstat        NFS Server NFS Server exists ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        ps -ef ps -ef        Exported Filesystem (boot) Exported Filesystem name more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab      dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab         Export options more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/        more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab      dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab         Export Description more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab      dfs/dfstab dfs/dfstab        Exported Filesystem (current) Exported filesystem name share share      share share share share share share         Exported file systemm options share share share share share share      share share         Exported FS description share share share share share share share      share        NFS Client Filesystems being mounted ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps      -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        Mounted Filesystem (Boot) Filesystem Name more /etc/ more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         remote machine more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/        more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         remote filesystem more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         Mount type (kerberos/NFS) more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/        more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         mount point more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab         mount permissions more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab vfstab        Mounted Filesystem (Current) Filesystem Name mount -v mount -v mount      -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v         Remote machine mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v         remote filesystem mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount      -v mount -v mount -v         mount type mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v         mount point mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v      mount -v mount -v         Date mounted since mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount -v mount        -v mount -v mount -v         Total Kbytes available df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df      -k         Total Kbytes used df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k            Percentage Capacity df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df -k df      -k         Files used df df df df df df df df        NIS Server NIS Server in existance ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef      ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef         domainname showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a      showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a        NIS client NIS client software exists ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps      -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef         domainname showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a      showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a         Server Bound to ypwhich ypwhich ypwhich ypwhich ypwhich ypwhich      ypwhich ypwhich        NIS+ Master configured as NIS+ Master niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o      niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              domainname niscat -o      niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              access rights niscat      -o niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                             NIS+ Replica configured        as a NIS+ Replica niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o      niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              domainname niscat -o      niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              access rights niscat      -o niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              NIS+ Master niscat -o      niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                             NIS+ Client configured      as aNIS+ client niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o      niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              domainname niscat -o      niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                              NIS+ Master niscat -o      niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                             NIS+ Search Path NTS+      Search Path niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o  niscat -o niscat -o niscat -o          org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir org.sub.-- dir  org.sub.-- dir      org.sub.-- dir org.sub.--       dir                                             DNS client DNS being      used ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef  ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        DNS resolve hosts DNS resolve host id more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/         more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          resolv.conf resolv.conf resolv.conf  resolv.conf resolv.conf      resolv.conf        NameService Configuration String Dummy Token D D D D D D D D        Password Map Resolve Type Name Service map Resolved by more /etc/ more        /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         Group MapResolve Type Name Service map Resolved by more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         Hosts Map Resolve Type Name Service map resolved by more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         Protocols Map Resolve Type Name Service map resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         RPC Map Resolve Type Name Service map resolved by more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         Ethers Map Resolve Type Name Service map resolved by more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         Netmasks Map Resolve Type Name Service map Resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         boorparams Map Resolve Type Name Service map Resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         publickey Map Resolve Type Name Service map Resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         netgroup Map Resolve Type Name Service Map Resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         automount Map resolve Type Name Service Map Resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         aliases Map resolve Type Name Service Map Resolved by more /etc/ more        /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         services Map resolve Type Name Service Map Resolved by more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         sendmailvars resolve Type Name Service Map Resolved By more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/  more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          nss- nss- nss-  nss- nss- nss-          witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf  witch.conf witch.conf witch.conf         CRON cron is running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        ps -ef        root cronjob cronjob name crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1      crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1         cronjob time control string crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab      -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1         cronjob execution string crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1      crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1 crontab -1        Sendmail sendmail is running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        ps -ef ps -ef         marjor relay mailer more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more      /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send-      mail/send- mail/send-          mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf         major relay host (DR) more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send-      mail/send- mail/send-          mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf         major relay host (CR) more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/      more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/ more /etc/          mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send- mail/send-      mail/send- mail/send-          mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf mai.cf        TCP/IP Name of Ethernet board  vtsprobe configd   vtsprobe configd            Internet Address showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a      showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a        Routing Table Dummy Token D D D D D D D D        Network Route Network Route Destination netstat -r netstat -r netstat      -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r         Gateway netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r      netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r         Flags netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat      -r netstat -r netstat -r         use netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r netstat -r        netstat -r netstat -r        Network Known Dummy Token D D D D D D D D        host list        Network Known Known IP address arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp      -a arp -a arp -a        host Network Mask arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp        -a         Physical Address arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp -a arp        -a        Javastation boot list        Javastation        Volume manager Create if running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps        -ef ps -ef ps -ef        Kernel Kernel Architecture showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a        showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a         Kernel memory  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe vtsprobe        Kernel Memory Leak Value leaked  kmemleak kmemleak   kmemleak kmemleak        Kernel module list Dummy Token D D D D D D D D        kernel module Kernel Module Name modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo      modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo         Kernel Module Load address modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo      modinfo modinfo modinfo         Kernel Module Info modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo      modinfo modinfo         Kernel Module Revision modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo modinfo      modinfo modinfo modinfo        kernel statistics dummy Token D D D D D D D D        VMHAT dummy token D D D D D D D D         VH CTX Free  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         VH CTX Dirty  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         VH CTX steal  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         VH TTE load  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         VH page faults  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k                VH steal count  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        Segment map Dummy test D D D D D D D D         Faults  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         Faulta  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         getmap  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         Page Create  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        Buffer IO Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         Buffer Cache Lookups  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k          Buffer Cache bits  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k            Waits for Buffer Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k      netstat -k         Duplicate Buffers found  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        System pages Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         Physical Memory  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k               Inalloc  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         nFree  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         kernel base  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         econtig  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         free memory  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         available rmem  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k                pages free  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k             pages locked  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k             RPC CLTS Client Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         Calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         Badcalls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badxids  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         timeouts  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        RPC COTS Client Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         Calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badcalls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badxids  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         interrupts  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        RPC COTS Connections Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         Write Queue  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         Server  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         status  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        RPC Client Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badcalls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         re transmits  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badxids  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         can't send  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        RPC CLTS Server Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         Calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badcalls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         xdr call  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        RPC COTS Server Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         badcalls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         xdr call  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        RPC Server Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         bad calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         xdr calls  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        Inode cache Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         size  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         maxsize  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         hits  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         misses  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         mallocs  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k        Kernel Mmory magazine Magazine ID  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k      netstat -k         Buffer Size  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         buffer available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              alloc fail  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              kernel memory buffer control Dummy Token D D D D D D D D               cache         Buffer Size  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         buffer available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k             kernel memory allocation Kernel memory allocation ID  netstat -k      netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              buffer size  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              buffer total  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k            SFMMU Cache SFMMU Cache ID  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k      netstat -k         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Failed Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Segment Cache Dummy Token  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Failed Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Thread Cache Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         buffer available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Failed Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Leight Weight Process Cache Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         buffer available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Failed Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        CRED Cache Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         buffer available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Failed Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Thread Cache Dummy Token D D D D D D D D         buffer available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Failed Allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k         global allocations  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k           Streams Message Stream message ID  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat      -k netstat -k         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Stream Head Cache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Queue Cache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Sync Q Cache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Streams Message Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        anonymous Cache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        anonymous map Cache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        seg VN Cache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        UFS InodeCache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        FASCache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        PipeCache Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        LM sysid Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        LM client Dummy Data D D D D D D D D         Buffer Available  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat -k              Allocation Failures  netstat -k netstat -k   netstat -k netstat      -k        Virtual Memory Total Virtual Memory size  vtsprobe vtsprobe   vtsprobe        vtsprobe         Virtual Memory Free vmstat vmstat vmstat  vmstat vmstat vmstat              Page Fault Page fault id vmstat vmstat vmstat  vmstat vmstat      vmstat        Windowing System Windowing system revision showrev -a showrev -a      showrev -a  showrev -a showrev -a showrev -a         Display Size xdpyinfo xdpyinfo xdpyinfo  xdpyinfo xdpyinfo xdpyinfo          Depth of root window xdpyinfo xdpyinfo xdpyinfo  xdpyinfo xdpyinfo      xdpyinfo         resolution xdpyinfo xdpyinfo xdpyinfo  xdpyinfo xdpyinfo xdpyinfo           Process Table Dummy Token D D D D D D D D        Process process name ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef      ps -ef         time ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef         process id ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef           parent id ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef         Unbundled Software Dummy Token D D D D D D D D        Solstice DiskSuite        MetaDisk Partition        Solstice Backup        Solstice Backup partition        Solstice Symon installed ND ND pkginfo -1 pkginfo -1 ND ND pkginfo -1      pkginfo -1         Symond running ND ND ps -ef ps -ef ND ND ps -ef ps -ef         Kernel reader running ND ND ps -ef ps -ef ND ND ps -ef ps -ef                Log scanner running ND ND ps -ef ps -ef ND ND ps -ef ps -ef          Sybase Sybase datasrver running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef      ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef         sybase backup dataserver running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef      ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        Oracle Oracle server running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef        ps -ef ps -ef        Informix Informix server running ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps -ef ps        -ef ps -ef ps -ef        SAP      Key      (D)  Dummy Token      (M)  Output of test must be modified as it is different across OS release      (ND)  No data available      *Blank spaces means untested or unknown tests 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of rebuilding the state of a computer system, comprising:providing a static tree structure representing a general computer system; extracting component information indicating hardware and software components of the computer system, from diagnostic data of the computer system; and generating a representation of the computer system according to the tree structure and the component information, wherein the computer system is part of a first computer system and the diagnostic data is communicated from the first computer system to a second computer system, the second computer system rebuilding the state of the computer system.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the static tree structure includes element types in a fixed hierarchical relationship, the element types representing the hardware and software components of the computer system.
 3. The method as recited in claim 2 further comprising extracting the component information as a plurality of tokens, the tokens being respective instances of respective token types, each of the token types having a value of one aspect of the component information and an indication of an association with one of the elements in the static tree.
 4. The method as recited in claim 3 further comprising building a token data base of the component information from plurality of tokens.
 5. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein the token data base is created as a hashtable.
 6. The method as recited in claim 4 wherein the generating of the representation of the computer system further comprises:for each respective element type in the static tree structure, searching the token data base for at least one token that refers to the respective element type; building the representation of the computer system having instantiated elements according to the tokens in the token data base.
 7. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein a respective element type is instantiated when a realizing token is found in the diagnostic data associated with the respective element type.
 8. The method as recited in claim 7 wherein the realizing token provides a name for the element type.
 9. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein a system representation is built by identifying all tokens in the token data base associated with one element before searching the token data base for tokens referring to another element type.
 10. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein at least one of the elements has a token defined to be a result of a mathematical operation on other tokens.
 11. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein the representation of the computer system has less than all of all the element types in the static tree structure.
 12. The method as recited in claim 6 wherein the representation of the computer system has instantiated more than one of at least one of the element types in the static tree structure.
 13. The method as recited in claim 3 wherein multiple tokens are generated from a single token type.
 14. The method as recited in claim 1 wherein the diagnostic data is communicated a plurality of times and a system representation is built for each communication of diagnostic test results, each system representation being a host state.
 15. The method as recited in claim 14 wherein when diagnostic data is missing from a communication of diagnostic data, missing data is filled in based on a previous host state saved in a data base.
 16. A data structure for representing a host state of a monitored computer system, the data structure being encoded in computer readable media and comprising:a plurality of elements in a fixed hierarchical structure representing components of the monitored computer system; and at least one token respectively associated with each of the elements, the at least one token providing a first expression representing a value of an associated element and a second expression representing the name of the associated element.
 17. The data structure as recited in claim 16 wherein the hierarchical structure includes hardware and software elements.
 18. The data structure as recited in claim 17 wherein each of the hardware and software elements represents one of a physical and virtual component of the monitored computer system.
 19. A computer program stored on computer readable media and operable in a monitoring computer system to:provide a static tree structure representing a general computer system; extract component information indicating hardware and software components of a monitored computer system, from diagnostic data of the monitored computer system; and generate a representation of the monitored computer system according to the tree structure and the component information, wherein the diagnostic data is communicated from the monitored computer system to the monitoring computer system for rebuilding the state of the general computer system.
 20. The computer program as recited in claim 19 wherein the static tree structure includes element types in a fixed hierarchical relationship, the element types representing hardware and software components of the monitored computer system.
 21. The computer program as recited in claim 20, wherein the component information is extracted as a plurality of tokens, the tokens being respective instances of respective token types, each of the token types having a value of one aspect of the component information and an indication of an association with one of the elements in the static tree.
 22. The computer program as recited in claim 21, the computer program being further operable to build a token data base of the component information from plurality of tokens.
 23. The computer program as recited in claim 22, wherein, the computer program is operable to search the token data base for at least one token that refers to the respective element type, for each respective element type in the static tree structure; andis operable to generate the representation of the monitored computer system to have instantiated elements according to the tokens in the token data base.
 24. The computer program method as recited in claim 23 wherein a respective element type is instantiated when a realizing token is found in the diagnostic data associated with the respective element type.
 25. An apparatus for rebuilding the state of a monitored computer system, comprising:a first data storage storing a static tree structure representing a general computer system; a second data storage storing component information indicating hardware and software components of the monitored computer system; a monitoring computer system, coupled to the first and second data storage, operable to generate a host state of the monitored computer system according to the static tree structure and the component information, and a third data storage coupled to the monitoring computer system, storing each generated host state of the monitored computer system for a predetermined period of time, the third data storage thereby holding a history of host states for the monitored computer system.
 26. The apparatus as recited in claim 25 wherein the static tree structure includes element types in a fixed hierarchical relationship, the element types representing the hardware and software components of the monitored computer system.
 27. The apparatus as recited in claim 26 wherein the second data storage stores the component information as a plurality of tokens, each token including a value representing one aspect of the component information and an indication of an association with one of the elements in the static tree.
 28. The method as recited in claim 27 wherein the plurality of tokens are stored in the form of a hashtable.
 29. The apparatus as recited in claim 27 further comprising:a fourth data storage receiving and storing diagnostic data of the monitored computer system; a fifth data storage storing token types defining tokens to be found in the diagnostic data, each token being an instantiation of one of the token types; and wherein the monitoring computer system is coupled to the fourth and fifth data storage areas and operable compare the token types to the diagnostic data to extract component information from the diagnostic data. 